It was PETER to whom THE LORD GAVE a NEW NAME (John 1:41-42)
along with THE KEYS to the Kingdom of Heaven based upon his God-given confession of "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:15-19)
Thus, as the Divinely appointed LEADER of "THE TWELVE",
PETER was SINGLED OUT from among the apostles in being a WITNESS to the RESURRECTION (Mark 16:7)
NEXT, Paul says that CHRIST was SEEN BY "THE TWELVE"
(I Corinthians 15:5)
NEXT, Paul says that CHRIST was SEEN BY ABOVE 500 BRETHREN
AT ONCE (I Corinthians 15:6)
After the RESURRECTION, the Lord appointed a MEETING PLACE
for HIS BRETHREN (500+ including the apostles) to SEE HIM (Matthew 28:10,16) and AFTERWARDS there were STILL SOME DOUBTERS (Matthew 28:17)
James, a brother of the Lord (Matthew 13:55), was an UNBELIEVER BEFORE the RESURRECTION (John 7:5),
but was an ELDER of the Jerusalem BRETHREN AFTER the RESURRECTION (Acts 21:17-18)
NEXT, Paul says that CHRIST was SEEN BY ALL THE APOSTLES
(I Corinthians 15:7)
ALL THE APOSTLES SAW JESUS ALIVE "after His passion"
and were TAUGHT BY HIM for 40 DAYS "UNTIL THE DAY in which He was TAKEN UP" (Acts 1:1-3),
i.e. "TAKEN UP ... INTO HEAVEN" (Acts 1:9-11)
It was the WITNESS of the RESURRECTION which TRANFORMED
the APOSTLES FROM FEARFUL HIDERS TO BOLD PROCLAIMERS (Acts 4:10,13 cf. John 20:19-20)
According to the Lord's own words - there is NO FORGIVENESS
"in THIS AGE" or "in THE AGE TO COME" for THE BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Matthew 12:31-32 cf.Matthew 12:24-28), which ISRAEL'S RULERS (INCLUDING PAUL) committed by THE STONING OF
SPIRIT-FILLED STEPHEN (Acts 7:51-53,59-60;Acts 8:1 cf.Acts 6:5-8)
During this GENTILE "DISPENSATION of the grace of
God" (Ephesians 3:1-2) - ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SALVATION has been put ON HOLD "UNTIL the
FULNESS of the GENTILES be come in" (Romans 11:25-26)
PAUL esteemed himself as "LESS than the LEAST of
the apostles" on account of his ACTIVITY PRIOR to his encounter with the Lord - "HAVING PERSECUTED the
Church of God" (I Corinthians 15:9)
PAUL was NOT LIKE the OTHER APOSTLES who were LOOKING
FOR MESSIAH ("of Whom, Moses in the Law, and the prophets did write") and BRINGING OTHERS TO MESSIAH
(John 1:43-49)
PAUL was CHIEFLY RESPONSIBLE for "a GREAT PERSECUTION
against the Church which was at Jersualem" (Acts 8:1)
and "MADE HAVOCK of the Church" (Acts 8:3)
PAUL was NOT LIKE the man SIMEON who was "JUST and
DEVOUT, WAITING for the Consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25)
and he was NOT LIKE the prophetess ANNA who in "FASTINGS and PRAYERS night and day ... spake of Him to all
them that LOOKED FOR REDEMPTION in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:36-38)
PAUL says concerning his "CONVERSATION (BEHAVIOR)
in TIME PAST in the Jews' religion" that "BEYOND MEASURE I PERSECUTED the Church of God, and WASTED it
and PROFITED in the Jews' religion ABOVE MANY" (Galatians 1:13-14)
PAUL was indeed a "HEBREW OF THE HEBREWS" and
as a PHARISEE - on the one hand he ZEALOUSLY PERSECUTED the Church and on the other hand he was OUTWARDLY BLAMELESS
concernal the EXTERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESS of the Law (Philippians 3:5-6)
PAUL perfectly fitted the Lord's assessment of THE PHARISEE
(Matthew 23:23-33)
In light of PAUL'S ACTIVITY PRIOR to his encounter with
the Lord - it is MOST UNDERSTANDABLE WHY he would say "I AM NOT NOT MEET TO BE CALLED AN APOSTLE" (I Corinthians 15:9)
JUST PRIOR to his encounter with the Lord, PAUL was "YET
BREATHING OUT THREATENINGS and SLAUGHTER against the disciples of the Lord" and was on his way to Damascus
with letters of authority from the high priest saying "that if he found ANY OF THIS WAY ... he might BRING
THEM BOUND unto Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-2)
It was PRECISELY AT THIS TIME that "as he JOURNEYED"
and "CAME NEAR to Damascus" that "SUDDENLY there SHINED round about him a LIGHT FROM HEAVEN"
and HEARD the Lord say, "SAUL, SAUL, WHY PERSECUTEST THOU ME?" (Acts 9:3-4)
In response to PAUL'S QUESTION concerning the IDENTITY
OF THE SPEAKER - the Lord replied, "I AM JESUS WHOM THOU PERSECUTEST" (Acts 9:5)
In response to PAUL'S QUESTION concerning PAUL'S MISSION
- the Lord replied, "Arise, and go into the city, and IT SHALL BE TOLD THEE WHAT THOU MUST DO" (Acts 9:6)
PAUL esteemed the GRACE that was bestowed upon him by
the Lord as that which enabled him to have "laboured MORE abundantly than they all" (I Corinthians 15:10)
PAUL describes the "GRACE of our Lord" to him
as "EXCEEDING abundant" (I Timothy 1:14)
PAUL, the Lord's GREAT PERSECUTOR (Acts 9:13-14),
became the Lord's GREAT SUFFERER (Acts 9:15-16)
PAUL'S very TRANSFORMED LIFE became God's PATTERN of LONGSUFFERING
"to them which should hereafter believe on Him to LIFE EVERLASTING" (I Timothy 1:16)
PAUL was willing to "ENDURE ALL things for the elect's
sakes, that they may also obtain the SALVATION ... WITH ETERNAL GLORY" (II Timothy 2:10)
PAUL came to learn the truth of how God manifests "the
POWER of Christ" today - "My GRACE is sufficient for thee: for My STRENGTH is made PERFECT (COMPLETE)
IN WEAKNESS" (II Corinthians 12:9)
God uses OUR WEAKNESS to manifest HIS STRENGTH, so that
we can say with PAUL - "WHEM I am WEAK, THEN I am STRONG" (II Corinthians 12:10)
Believers who FOLLOW PAUL as he FOLLOWED CHRIST (I Corinthians 11:1)
will also come to know "the POWER of His RESURRECTION" through "the FELLOWSHIP of His SUFFERINGS"
(Philippians 3:10)
Christ's "INTERCESSION for us" at "the
RIGHT HAND of God" (Romans 8:34)
is that we may come to KNOW (EXPERIENTIALLY) through SUFFERING (Romans 8:35-36) what is means to be "MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED
US" (Romans 8:37)
There can be NO manifestation of POWER (RESURRECTION)
WITHOUT first experiencing WEAKNESS (BEING CRUCIFIED) - what was true for Christ is NOW what is ALSO true for us
(II Corinthians 13:4)
HOWEVER, they each gave a DIFFERENT REASON as concerning
the PURPOSE FOR THE RESURRECTION of Christ, which underscores the fact that their MESSAGES (GOSPELS) and MINISTRIES
(AUDIENCES) are DIFFERENT (Galatians 2:7-9)
PETER addressing those who dwelt at JERUSALEM (Acts 2:14),
i.e. ISRAEL (Acts 3:12)
- told them that CHRIST was RAISED to sit on DAVID'S THRONE (Acts 2:29-30 cf.II Samuel 7:8,12-13),
which was ISRAEL'S EARTHLY HOPE spoken of by THEIR PROPHETS (Acts 3:24-25)
PAUL, "the APOSTLE of the GENTILES" (Romans 11:13)
- revealed to them that God "RAISED HIM (CHRIST)" and "SET HIM (CHRIST) at His own right hand in
the HEAVENLY PLACES, FAR ABOVE ALL" (Ephesians 1:20-21) and that HE (CHRIST) shares that exalted position with "THE CHURCH,
which is HIS BODY" (Ephesians 1:22-23;Ephesians 2:6-7)
The FELLOW (EQUAL) INHERITANCE for BOTH JEW AND GENTILE
is declared by PAUL to be "THE MYSTERY" (Ephesians 3:3,6), "which in OTHER AGES was NOT MADE KNOWN" (Ephesians 3:5)
and, THEREFORE, is DIFFERENT FROM GOD'S EARTHLY TREASURE (ISRAEL) as being "ABOVE ALL PEOPLE" (I Peter 2:9 cf.Exodus 19:5-6)